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Restaurant Review: Pig in a Fur Coat

Admittedly, New Years Eve isn’t my favorite holiday of the year. It gets so much hype, but often winds up being a disappointment. And this year, none of my friends really had any plans. Me and Sam are homebody’s as it is, and weren’t really feeling up for anything too crazy. But when I saw that our favorite restaurant, Pig in a Fur Coat, was doing a special tasting menu, I knew this is what we should do. It was the perfect amount of special but low-key and of course, delicious.

On the docket for dinner was a 6 course set tasting menu with wine pairings. For the first course, we had a foie gras and chicken liver mousse over a freshly fried bombolini topped with a 13 year aged balsamic and cherry pure.

Next came a venison tartar served on a house made Parmesan cracker and a juniper, lemon egg yolk hollandaise. This was my favorite course! The cracker was so salty and the perfect compliment to the vension. And the meat was perfectly cut for easy eating.

Next on the menu was a lobster gnocchi. Wow, were these gnocchi tender. Freshly made in the kitchen, they were so delicious! It was served over a nutty chestnut pure with black trumpets. This course was a bit of an odd ball since seafood is not normally served on the menu. But it was well-composed and a nice mid-point of the meal.

The main entree was a rabbit loin stuffed with veal and black truffles, served over a root vegetable pure and braised kale. This dish was so complex and offered so many different flavors. When you tried each component individually, you wondered how each would go with the others. But then when you took a full bite with each element, all the flavors melded so well together. The creaminess of the root vegetable pure added nicely to the umami flavor of the truffles, and the richness of the meat was cut by the acidity of the kale. Perfect!

Then came the cheese course. This plate was bold!! It was a Hooks aged blue cheese (Little Boy Blue) warmed and served topped with white chocolate, honey, cranberries and toasted almonds. There was a lot going on here and it was super rich. Sam wasn’t a fan of this dish, but I really like it. It was a lot of flavor and almost burned through your palate as cleansing course. Plus I can never turn down a good blue cheese.

The final dish was an espresso semi-freddo (ice cream) served over sauteed hazelnuts. It was topped with fresh cocoa powder and white chocolate, with a whiskey creme anglaise. The coffee flavor in the semi-freddo was SPOT ON! And the bitterness of the cocoa powder was complimented by the anglaise and white chocolate. The hazelnuts were not necessary for me, but I liked the nuttiness they brought.

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Author: Megan Arz

I am a travel and food obsessed Midwesterner living in Chicago and dreaming of the world. I work as a full-time program manager for Greenheart Travel, but I am also committed to integrating the travel lifestyle into my every day routines. I am passionate about ethical travel, meeting new people, creating unique memories and eating local cuisine!
View all posts by Megan Arz